Square-Enix teams up with NeuroSky for mind-control gaming

Developer Square-Enix will be unveiling a tech demo for a brain-controlled …

The way that we interact with our games has changed a great deal since the medium began. We've gone from simple joysticks, to increasingly complicated game pads, all the way up to touch and motion controlled games. Now Square-Enix has joined forces with NeuroSky—a company that creates devices that can harness brain-waves to interact with technology—for a prototype of what the future of gaming may look like.

The tech demo will make use of NeuroSky's MindSet device, which at first glance looks like a pair of giant headphones. The headset has an electrode that reads brain patterns via the wearer's forehead, and by reading the players' "minds," the headset allows them to interact with the game on-screen.

Unlike most brain-control devices, NeuroSky's is both affordable and seems easy to use, making it ideal for consumer applications like gaming. "Basically, the aim at NeuroSky was to create a simple, plug-and-play device," NeuroSky's Greg Hyver told Ars. "The important ratio here is 'feature set/plug play.' Our competitors have driven 'feature set' heavily, while basically ignoring the 'plug-and-play' component. NeuroSky has taken a more balanced approach to ensure that the consumer's experience with this fascinating technology is not fraught with frustration and is enjoyable."

Unfortunately, few details are available on the actual game, which will be unveiled at the Tokyo Game Show. While NeuroSky has created the hardware, the software was done solely by Square-Enix. However, as it stands, whatever ends up being shown is merely a glimpse of what could possibly come in the future. "The game is in a technical demo form," Hyver explained. "The decision to refine and release the product to the public lies solely with Square-Enix."

While controlling a game solely with your mind has been tried before, with limited success, projects like this bring the dream closer to reality. It's also great to see a prominent developer like Square-Enix on board; as we've learned from devices like the Novint Falcon, great hardware is nothing without the software to back it up.

As for the future of mind-control gaming, Hyver sees it going the same route as other peripheral-driven games. "The industry has seen how a bundled peripheral-game concept can work wonderfully in the shape and form of Guitar Hero." And it's tough to argue with that kind of success.

Hyver wouldn't detail what the game play will be like in the demo, so hopefully more information will come out of the Tokyo Game Show.